Reagan
was the worst president of the 20th century. He did absolutely nothing for the conservative movement as he increased the national debt by 4 times. His Alzheimers was already taking its toll and he often slept through meetings with his cabinet and congressional leaders. He went to meetings armed with note cards to stay on track as he had no intellectual capacity at all. He sent Marines to die in Lebanon and then ran as soon as they died. This incursion emboldened the Arab extremists who saw the US was weak when they were attacked. He dealt secretly with the Iranian terrorists and sold them missiles so he could secretly fund terrorists in Central America. He armed the terrorist in Afghanistan and then withdrew American influence and allowed the Pakistanis to install the Taliban in power.
People who have rosy memories of Reagan bought into his personna but he was a terribly failed person whose children did not care for him at all. The only one who was fond of him was adopted son, Michael, who makes a living on the radio based on that relationship.
I voted for him in 1980 but immediately realized he was not a conservative when he allowed the budget deficits to soar and spent the taxpayer's money like water. I did not vote for him in 1984 because it was obvious he was mentally challenged. The man was very much opposed to AIDS research as he thought gays "had it coming". He was quit bigoted in many ways because his mind was unable to grasp any sophisticated reason. This may be the reason he is revered by many, because the American people are easily swayed by leaders who promise a lot and then lie with a smile, ala Richard Nixon, the runner up for worst president in the 20th century. Both of these liars presaged the Bush administraion and which is bent on outdoing the previous Republican administrations in lying about nearly everything.
The first Republican President , Abraham Lincoln, said it best, "You can fool some of the people all the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all the people all the time". It seems his successors have raised the bar. Lets not forget that icon of Republican conservatism, Newt Gingrich, who, while having an affair in his own office, was daily blasting Bill Clinton for the same. He was a Reagan conservative that lived the "Do what I say and not what I do credo".